Dutch Container Merchants (DCM) didn’t stumble into the container game; it walked in with the confidence of a firm that knows exactly where the value leaks are in global logistics and how to plug them. Founded in 2019 by industry veteran Rogier Vervoort, the Amsterdam-based, family-run business has grown from a neat idea into a multi-continent operation—trading, leasing and arranging one-way container solutions across Europe, North and South America, and Asia. The proposition is simple: personal service at global scale, with fewer middlemen and far less faff.
From factory floor to freight yard
DCM’s trading arm starts upstream, not on a spreadsheet. By working directly with trusted manufacturers in China and Vietnam, the company oversees production of brand-new units to international standards, controlling quality, timelines and cost before the paint is even dry. That upstream control also shortens lead times and keeps pricing transparent—real advantages for shipping lines expanding fleets, logistics firms chasing reliable kit, or businesses using boxes for storage and conversions. And for clients who don’t need “fresh out the mould”, DCM curates used containers to a standard, not a price tag.
Leasing minus the long-term baggage
Owning metal isn’t always clever. Seasonal peaks, pilot routes and uncertain volumes are better served with flexibility. DCM’s leasing offer provides access to seaworthy, CSC-certified containers—20ft, 40ft, High Cube and specialist units—on terms measured in weeks, months or years. You scale up when demand spikes, scale down when it breathes out, and never lose sleep over depreciation or resale. It’s operational agility with predictable monthly costs, which in logistics is about as close to a spa day as it gets.
One-way services that kill the empty leg
The industry’s recurring headache is paying to shift empties back to origin. DCM’s one-way solution sidesteps the nonsense: use the box for the outbound move and leave it at destination. No return logistics, no empty repositioning bill, and no time sink organising equipment to go back where it started. Exporters testing new markets, importers with one-off flows and forwarders wrestling persistent equipment imbalances all gain a cleaner cost structure and fewer coordination knots.
Sustainability without the sermon
DCM treats sustainability as operations, not wallpaper. By extending the life of units through reuse, tightening supply chains and selecting partners aligned with efficiency, the firm trims its footprint while helping clients do the same. No chest-beating. Just fewer wasteful miles and better equipment utilisation baked into the model.
People who pick up the phone
The “family business” line can be marketing fluff—until it isn’t. At DCM it means you deal with people who actually own the outcome. The team—literally relatives and long-standing friends—coordinates solutions from Amsterdam via a broad depot network and streamlined digital processes, but what clients feel is speed and accountability rather than a call-centre script. When shipments get messy (because they do), decisions happen quickly and transparently.
Real problems, tidy fixes
A North American importer wants reliable used units at sensible prices; DCM’s trading supply chain delivers. A European logistics firm needs extra capacity for a three-month seasonal bulge; leasing carries the load without the capital hangover. A forwarder battling equipment scarcity in a lopsided region finds that one-way services remove an entire problem category—return legs—at a stroke. Different scenarios, same through-line: quality kit, clear paperwork, and a partner that solves rather than sells.
Partnership over transactions
Plenty of companies will rent you a box. Fewer will stay close enough to keep your network balanced, your documentation clean and your costs predictable across trading, leasing and one-way flows. DCM’s bet is that long-term relationships built on upstream control and fast, human decision-making will matter more as trade patterns keep shifting. In other words: containers may be a commodity; competence isn’t.
